Panel and frame construction for buildings



c. R. ROLEN 2,809,730

PANEL ANO FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDINGS Oct. 15, 1957 Filed July l1, 1955 INVENTOR w Mm 0 I1 mf i @W 5. a I F United States Patent.,

PANEL AND FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDINGS Carl R. Rolen, Pataskala, Ghio Application July 11, 1955, Serial No. 521,110

3 Claims. (Cl. 1559-88) This invention relates to building construction, and has for its general object to provide an improved wall formation embodying a plurality of enclosure-producing elements in the form of relatively adjoining sheet metal beams and panels, improved means being associated therewith for uniting and maintaining such enclosureforming members in assembled order.

Another object of the invention is to provide sheet metal enclosure-producing members formed so that they may be quickly and conveniently assembled and united in secure relative order to provide a novel wall structure which is characterized by its high strength, rigidity, lightness in weight and economy to fabricate and erect.

A further object is to provide an improved building wall embodying a plurality of vsheet metal beams or columns to which a plurality of marginally flanged sheet metal panel sections are united by the associated use of quickly applied, bendable, wire fasteners.

An additional object is to provide sheet metal wall members of the character indicated wherein the marginal flanges of adjoining panel sections have edge contact with a pair of oppositely directed, aligned seating llanges formed on each associated beam or column.

Still another object is to provide wall construction of this kind wherein the wire fasteners, employed in uniting the panel sections with the beams or columns, have their intermediate portions resiliently trained through aligned openings formed in adjoining marginal anges of said sections to hold the latter against the beam or column.

A still further object is to provide wall-forming members of the type defined above and wherein each wire fastener has one end thereof provided with a hook-shaped formation for holding application to one of a pair of seating flanges formed on each adjoining beam or column, and wherein the opposite end portion of each fastener possesses a length enabling the same, at the time of wall formation, to be bent around a second of said beam-carried seating ilanges in a manner bringing angularly bent legs of the fastener into engagement with one of the side webs of a beam-provided rib, whereby to firmly retain associated panel sections in united relation with the beam or column.

For a more detailed understanding of a preferred constructional embodiment of the wall-forming members of the present invention, reference may be had to the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a transverse sectional view taken through the building wall members formed, arranged and united in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view on a larger scale, disclosing the wire fastening means utilized by the present invention in joining the panel sections of the wall formation with an associated beam or column member;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the wireicc fastening elements as it appears prior to final bending thereof;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings by the use of reference characters appearing thereon, the sheet metal wall construction provided by the present invention provides a plurality of beams or columns 5 to which are joined by means of wire fasteners 6 a plurality of panels 7. These parts when in the assembled order shown provide an enclosuredefining wall adapted for use in side wall, roof, ceiling, partition, or floor construction. In the specific embodiment thereof selected for illustration, my improved wall construction is shown as it is formed when employed in ceiling construction, although it is equally applicable to the other uses specified.

Each of the beams 5 is formed from a length of sheet metal and shaped to provide a centrally disposed, longitudinally extending, hollow, reinforcing rib 8, the latter being substantially triangular in its cross-sectional configuration, embodying an outer, somewhat arcuate, web 9 which terminates in inwardly converging, relatively spaced side webs 10. The webs 10 terminate in approximately the center of each beam and are bent to form outwardly and laterally directed, panel-seating flanges 1l and lia which occupy a common plane and are coextensive with the rib S.

In association with each of these beams, the wall construction of the present invention includes the panels 7. Each of these panels is formed from a sheet material possessing stiffness, rigidity and relative lightness in weight, such as sheet metal, although certain of the `socalled plastic compositions may be utilized. In this iustance, each panel is of rectangular construction and includes a flat wall 12 which at the margins thereof terminates in inwardly extending perpendicular side flanges 13.

The panels are mounted in closely adjoining order on the beams 5, with the walls 12 thereof disposed in a common plane and the flanges 13 of adjacent panels relatively arranged in side-by-side, contacting order, the edges of the flanges contacting the outer faces of the seating flanges 11 and 11a of said beams. Preferably, the sidefonning flanges 13 of longitudinally aligned panel sections are joined by the use of headed fastening screws 14. The threaded Shanks of these screws pass through aligned openings 15 formed in the immediately adjoining side flanges 13. The panels are united in the construction illustrated by removably applying to the screw Shanks metallic fastening plates 16. Each of these plates is formed with outwardly and angularly directed resilient tongues i7, the outer ends of the latter engaging the threaded screw Shanks, as shown in Fig. 5, to hold positively the plates in panel-clamping positions. Crdinary nuts may be employed in lieu of the plates 15, the latter, however, are economical and easy to apply.

In securing such longitudinally united pairs of panels to an associated beam, use is made of the wire fasteners shown at 6 in the drawing. Each of these fasteners, prior to being inserted in the wall assembly, is formed at one end thereof with a hook 18 which, as shown in Fig. 2, is adapted to be engaged with the flange 11 of the beam. 'Ihe intermediate portion of the fastener, by arcuately bowing the same at 19, is passed through aligned openings 2li formed in adjoining panel flanges 13. Thereafter, each fastener is bent to pass over the outer edge of the second seating llange 11a of the beam and, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, to extend at an angle inwardly from the outer edge of the second flange into contact with the outer web 9 of the rib 8.

The unsupported length of the fastener thus disposed between the outer edge of the flange 11a and the web 9 is struck with a bending tool, such as that indicated in broken lines at 21 in Fig. 2, in order that said unsupported length may be bent to form a leg 22 which engages with and extends substantially parallel to the ange 11a, the inner end of said leg terminating'in an outwardly and angularly directed leg 23 which is arranged to lie adja- `cent to one of the side webs 10'and to terminate adjacent the outer web 9 of the beam rib 8. By thus forming'and bending the fastener at the time of application, the bowed intermediate portion thereof is placed under flexing tension so that the panel sections are securely and firmly held in engagement with an associated beam.

The construction defined is Simple yet effective in its intended purposes and enables strong yet lightweight walls to be produced quickly, conveniently and at low costs.

I claim:

1. Wall construction comprising a beam having a centrally disposed, longitudinally extending rib which projects outwardly and laterally from the central part of a fiat, perpendicularly disposed base an'ge formation; a

plurality of adjoining, rectangular, panels connected with said beam, each of Said panels including a flat outer wall having the marginal portions thereof formed with inwardly directed side flanges, said outer walls being disposed in spaced, parallel relation to the base flange formation of said beam, with the edges of the side flanges of said panels in contact with the base flange formation of the beam, fastening means removable from and directly uniting the adjoining side flanges of contiguous panels, and a bendable wire fastener having an intermediate portion trained through aligned openings formed in the adjoining side flanges of said panels and end portions hooked around longitudinal outer edges of the base ange formation of said beam, one of said end portions possessing a length causing the same to extend from the outer edge of the base flange of the beam around which it is hooked over a face of the ange and across an adjoining face of the rib to the outer portion of the latter.

2. Wall construction as dened in claim l, and wherein said beam is of sheet metal formation, having a hollow centrally disposed n'b which is substantially triangular in its transverse cross section, said rib providing an outer web and inwardly converging side Webs which terminate in a pair of laterally directed flanges constituting said flange formation.

4 3. n building construction, a beam composed of a metallic sheet bent upon itself to provide a centrally disposed, longitudinally extending hoilow rib, said rib being substantially triangular in its transverse cross section and including an outer web terminating in a pair of spaced inwardly converging coextensive side webs, said side webs at the center of the beam terminating to form outwardly v and laterally disposed rst and second flanges, the latter occupying a common plane substantially perpendicular to the general plane of said rib; a plurality of rectangular, relatively adjoining sheet metal panels, each of said panels including a flat outer wall parallel with said flanges and formed with laterally directed, marginal side flanges having their outer longitudinal edges disposed for abutting relation with the flanges of said beam; a wire fastener formed at one end thereof with a hook engaged with an outer longitudinal edge of the first of said beam flanges, the hook of said fastener terminating in an elongated be'ndable shank having its intermediate portion trained through aligned openings provided in the side flanges of a pair of adjoining panels, said shank being trained around the longitudinal edge of the second flange of said beam, the free end of said shank terminating in a configuration conforming substantially with the upper face of the second beam flange and the side of the rib of said beam joined with said second flange, the free end of the shank after being bent around said second ange being straight and of such length as to span the distance between the outer edge of the second flange and the outer web of the beam rib, so that upon application of inwardly directed bending forces thereto the same will be inwardly bent to conform substantially to the configuration of a face of the second flange and that of the adjoining side web of said rib.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

